1750 Homann Heirs Map of Israel / Palestine / Holy Land (12 Tribes)

Title

Description

This is one of the Homann Heirs finest and most appealing maps of Palestine / Israel / The Holy Land. Depicts the region divided into the 12 Tribes of Israel. In the right hand corners there are two title cartouches. The lower is exceptionally decorative and depicts with two spies of Moses bearing the fruit from the Promised Land to the Hebrew camp, as well as the front and back of an ancient shekel coin. The upper left quadrant offers an overview of the region as a whole. The upper right features a dedication from the mapmaker to Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand, the future Duke of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel and Braunschweig-Lüneburg (from 1773). This map was drawn by Johann Christoph Harenberg.for inclusion the 1752 Homann Heirs Maior Atlas Scholasticus ex Triginta Sex Generalibus et Specialibus…. Most early Homann atlases were 'made to order' or compiled of individual maps at the request of the buyer. However, this rare atlas, composed of 37 maps and charts, was issued as a 'suggested collection' of essential Homann Heirs maps. A fine copy of an important map.

Cartographer

Johann Baptist Homann (March 20, 1664 - July 1, 1724) was the most prominent and prolific map publisher of the 18th century. Homann was born in Oberkammlach, a small town near Kammlach, Bavaria, Germany. As a young man Homann studied in a Jesuit school and nursed ambitions of becoming a Dominican priest before converting to Protestantism in 1687. Following his conversion, Homann moved to Nuremberg and found employment as a notary. Around 1693 Homan briefly relocated to Vienna, where he lived and studied printing and copper plate engraving until 1695. Afterwards he returned to Nuremberg where, in 1702, he founded the commercial publishing firm that would bear his name. In the next five years Homann produced hundreds of maps and developed a distinctive style characterized by heavy detailed engraving, elaborate allegorical cartouche work, and vivid hand color. The Homann firm, due to the lower cost of printing in Germany, was able to undercut the dominant French and Dutch publishing houses while matching the diversity and quality of their output. By 1715 Homann's rising star caught the attention of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles the VI, who appointed him Imperial Cartographer. In the same year he was also appointed a member of the Royal Academy of Sciences in Berlin. Homann's prestigious title came with a number of important advantages including access to the most up to date cartographic information as well as the "Privilege". The Privilege was a type of early copyright offered to a few individuals by the Holy Roman Emperor. Though not as sophisticated as modern copyright legislation, the Privilege did offer a kind of limited protection for several years. Most all J. B. Homann maps printed between 1715 and 1730 bear the inscription "Cum Priviligio" or some variation. Following Homann's death in 1726, the management of the firm passed to his son Johann Christoph Homann (1703 - 1730). J. C. Homann, perhaps realizing that he would not long survive his father, stipulated in his will that the company would be inherited by his two head managers, Johann Georg Ebersberger and Johann Michael Franz, and that it would publish only under the name Homann Heirs. This designation, in various forms (Homannsche Heirs, Heritiers de Homann, Lat Homannianos Herod, Homannschen Erben, etc..) appears on maps from about 1731 onwards. The firm continued to publish maps in ever diminishing quantities until the death of its last owner, Christoph Franz Fembo in 1848.

Condition

Very Good condition. Very minor centerfold discoloration. Blank on verso.

References

Phillips, Lee Philip, A List of Geographical Atlases in the Library of Congress, page 44.

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